Before the dawn of the safe and robust Next-Gen, new-generation race cars, racers back in the day were putting their life on the line, going all out balls to the walls fearing the worst case imaginable, and quite literally living like there was no tomorrow. In fact, things were so dangerous that the sport, in general, developed an infamous reputation for killing drivers, as these vicious accidents were not so uncommon during those days.

One such horrific tale was following the notorious 1963 Augusta 510 held at Augusta International Speedway in Georgia. Following the 3-mile road race that year, NASCAR lost six of its top 7 drivers in the following months, becoming the most cursed era of the sport and reminding how dangerous the period truly was. Even the great Glenn “Fireball” Roberts couldn’t escape his ill fate as tragedy struck the legendary driver almost one year after he won the Augusta 510 in 1963, taking five more lives one after the other.

The curse of Augusta 510 and the tragic demise of its drivers

On Sunday, May 5, 1960, the officials pulled the veils off of one of the most decorated racing complexes ever. It had a micro midget track, kart track, motorcycle track, a drag strip, and an exclusive 3-mile road course to test the best Stock Car racers in America. The race course and track complex even has a golf course in its center with a 2-mile tri-oval that was in development.

Augusta International Speedway’s asphalt road course was specifically built to test the best racers and separate the best from the rest with numerous challenges that include a turn named Cemetery Hill, named after the cemetery close to it along with a series of chicane’s called the Alligator hollow. However, once it was opened, it wasn’t what it was promised it would be. Even Bill France voiced his dislike, mentioning that the slow pace of the track and the field wasn’t what he expected.

But that’s not what the track is infamous for. While the 3-mile road course had its problems after the 1963 season which ended, the track’s dark legacy was on full display when one after the other, six of the organization’s high-level racers died in separate incidents. Over the course of the next 14 months, six of the seven top finishers of the 1963 Augusta 510 were killed with only Ned Jarrett escaping the fate.

Jimmy Pardue was a popular face in NASCAR hailing from North Carolina. He rode the #54 car, carrying wins between 1962 and 1963. Pardue who finished the 510 mile 170 lap race of 1963, sixth, met his end on September 22nd, 1964 when he was testing tires when the driver was sent flying 300 feet off the track after a mechanical failure or tire burst got his car off the rails at 147 miles an hour in Charlotte Motor Speedway. Although his fellow driver Larry Thomas managed to pull out the driver from the mangled car, he was later declared dead in the hospital.

Larry Thomas, who finished seventh in 63 Augusta 510, died in 1965 when his passenger car fell off into a 35-foot embankment after hitting the side of i-75 speedway in Tifton, Georgia. The tragic fate devoured more lives, taking four more, including the great “Fireball” Roberts and 2-time title holder Joe Weatherly.

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Four more drivers perish as the curse continues to take its toll, taking away the great “Fireball” Roberts

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The dark legacy of the 3-mile track plagued the NASCAR world for a couple of months more, taking four more lives. Following his qualifying attempt gone wrong in Augusta, tossing the driver for multiple flips, 10 in total before he landed on a group of trees and a swamp, 2-time champion Joe Weatherly survived the scare with minor injuries. But he was the first drive to lose his life, killed in a crash on January 19th at Riverside. Weatherly finished the infamous 63 race fourth behind Billy Wade.

Just one year after he began competing in NASCAR on a regular basis, disaster struck the 33-year-old in 64, Daytona. Wade hit the concrete barrier at 170 miles an hour after he blew the right front tire, killing him instantly due to the blunt force of the impact. 63’s Augusta 510 runner-up Dave McDonald died just months after he beat Roger Penske in Riverside. The Ford-associated Shelby driver, who was also the teammate of Ken Miles, was also killed in Indy500 in 64 when his car lost control in turn 1 and hit the barrier at high speed with the inferno claiming the life of the young bright star.

The most distressing of them all was Glenn “Fireball” Roberts’ untimely death, despite the driver having an unfair advantage over the competition. Roberts was in fact the race winner of the 63 Augusta 510 owing to his in-depth know-how of the track, involved in the construction as one among the many on the board of directors.

He was very much involved in the design of the track and owned some part of it. The late great won the 63 race dominating the field in stellar fashion. But little did the fandom know that it was going to be his last win. He was involved in a crash later next year in World 600. It turned his car into a fireball, burning him severely in a lap eight crash with Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson.

He died of his injuries on July 2nd days after he endured the pain in the hospital, leaving a dark, brooding traumatic memory for fans. The facility was later closed down in 1970 with nonprofit organizations honoring fallen drivers, naming the streets in the housing development named after them.

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